Richard Bush proves rock not just a young man's game

Tuesday

There’s not much sadder for music fans than watching a veteran performer going through the motions onstage, looking bored, burnt out or, worse, miserable.

It’s understandable, though, especially if the artist is decades past his or her commercial peak and is performing in a half-filled bar in front of a marginally attentive crowd.

Fortunately, you never have to worry about such onstage apathy from Richard Bush.

Thirty years after flirting with national stardom as frontman for popular Philly new wave band The A’s, Bush still oozes rock-star charisma as the lead singer of the five-year-old Peace Creeps.

He and the tight-knit band gave a dynamic performance Saturday night during an autism benefit concert at McStew’s Irish Sports Pub in Levittown. If you didn’t know, you’d never guess they were playing a suburban bar in front of maybe 30 people. This was a set worthy of a packed house at the TLA or Electric Factory.

“He just looks like a rock star,” benefit headliner Danny DeGennaro, who delivered a similarly inspired set later in the evening, said as he watched Bush’s performance.

What’s most impressive is that Bush’s punkish energy comes off as natural and not the least bit forced. It’s not easy for longtime musicians to maintain their youthful enthusiasm without turning into parodies of themselves, but Bush pulls it off. He’s a 50-something guy who clearly believes in the music he’s performing, not a 50-something guy pretending to be 20.

It doesn’t hurt that his voice is still remarkably strong — and instantly recognizable to anybody who remembers him from the A’s and the 1981 radio hit “A Woman’s Got the Power.”

Bush, a longtime Bensalem resident, was away from music for 11 years before forming the Peace Creeps in 2006 and releasing the album, “Autumn of Love.” The band, which also includes guitarist John Marchiano, bassist Roy Fisher and drummer Jeff Pancoast, immediately distinguished itself with a mix of rock, pop and psychedelia that was steeped in the 1960s and early ‘70s but still managed to sound modern.

The Peace Creeps’ aptly named second album, 2011’s “Time Machine,” builds on the promise of their debut. Infectious tracks such as “Letter O’ Love” and “Meet the Beatles” are vintage power pop, while the band shows off its psychedelic side on tracks such as the gritty, album-opening “When the Revolution Comes,” the moody “Deep and Dreamless” and the wistful closer “I Hate November.”

The Peace Creeps wear their influences proudly. “Fashions for the Fall” sounds like it could have been a hit for the Zombies — or at least a 21st-century version of the Zombies.

Listening to the album for the first time on the drive home from the show Saturday, the songs suffered slightly in comparison to their live performances, but only because Bush and the band delivered them with such aplomb.

But this is an album that deserves repeated listenings, and a band that deserves an audience, even if it’s just on the regional level.

Unlike with the A’s, who released two albums on Arista Records, there’s no major-label record deal in the Peace Creeps’ future. Probably no fame or fortune, either.

But there’s still plenty of great music, especially with a frontman who looks and sounds like a rock star, even if he’s not.

More information: www.myspace.com/thepeacecreeps

DYNAMIC DUO

Speaking of great local music, Levittown’s DeGennaro and an all-star band of area musicians capped Saturday’s benefit with a raucous, crowd-pleasing set of originals and covers that lasted well into Sunday morning.

DeGennaro’s band included guitarist T.J. Tindall, whose impressive résumé includes playing with Bonnie Raitt and is back performing after a lengthy hiatus; slide guitarist Billy Goodman, who has toured with Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane and is well-known in this area for his time in the Goodman Brothers Band; bassist Gary “Bubba” Balduzzi; and drummer David Uosikkinen of the Hooters.

That lineup won’t be performing anywhere else for a while, but you can catch DeGennaro and Goodman onstage together Tuesday at John and Peter’s in New Hope before Goodman returns home to Germany. Show time is 9 p.m. and admission is $8.

UNFORGETTABLE TV

If the idea of a brilliantly acted, impeccably written, beautifully filmed, nail-bitingly suspenseful thriller with a dose of dark comedy appeals to you and you haven’t been watching AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” you’re doing yourself a great disservice.

Eleven episodes into its fourth season, the show is seriously challenging “The Wire” for the honor of my favorite program of all time.

Certainly, the last 10 minutes of Sunday’s episode were as intense as any I’ve ever seen on TV. It felt like the climax to a great horror movie — without any actual violence.

After Bryan Cranston’s maniacal but believable final scene, the Emmys might as well mail him his fourth trophy right now. But as fantastic as Cranston is, he’s been somewhat overshadowed by other cast members this season. “Breaking Bad” is his character’s story, but it’s truly become an ensemble piece.

If you’re a fan of the masterpiece that Vince Gilligan (“The X-Files”) has created, you know what I mean. If you’re not, you’ve got plenty of time to catch up on the first four seasons before next year’s fifth and final go-around.

Trust me. Tales of cancer-stricken high school chemistry teachers-turned-meth dealers don’t get any better than this.

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